Challenging myths about antidepressants

Challenging myths about antidepressants

Despite the proven effectiveness of antidepressants, there are a lot of concerns and wrong assumptions in the general population. It might be helpful for you to know the following:

Why drugs?Some people wonder how drugs can help them with a mental disorder like depression, especially when they consider a stressful job, problems in their relationship or another difficult life situation, to be the cause of their current situation. Of course, medications cannot solve these problems but with an effective psychopharmacological therapy targeting the depressive symptoms, most of the problems are put into perspective and this enables the patients to search for solutions actively. It is important that the patients personally engage in the possibility of treatment with antidepressants or other medication used for treating depression. Only if they are feeling comfortable and confident with the treatment, will they comply with medication regularly and over a long period of time.

Characteristics of antidepressants:

Antidepressants are not addictive

Antidepressants do not change a person's personality

Antidepressants are not stimulant drugs or tranquilisers and do not make a person "high"

Antidepressants have an effect on the transmitters in the brain

Antidepressants do not work immediately

Antidepressants are not antipsychotics

Antidepressants do not work immediately

Despite medical treatment, it usually takes a while before the patient starts to feel better

Normally it takes 2 to 6 weeks of regularly intake for improvements to show

Side effects unfortunately might be noticed right away but will be temporary in most cases